At almost all funeral processions across Chittoor district, one will not miss the sound of a blast of a locally made “bomb”, which indisputably produces a high decibel noise compared to branded crackers.
When two child labourers died in a blast at an illegally operated manufacturing unit on the busy Tirupati-Renigunta road last year, the illegal trade caught the attention of the public and police. Its operator, who was known as “Khalnayak” in police circles, was arrested, and at present is out on bail, though said to have been involved in several cases.
A decade ago, three persons were killed in a blast at a crackers shop at Hare Rama Hare Krishna Road in Tirupati, when Deepavali revelry was in full swing. A version was that a box of locally made crackers was responsible for the blast. Soon, the ghastly memory got erased from the public mind.
In 2009, residents of Chittoor district were shocked when 34 persons were killed when a wholesale crackers shop caught fire at Pallipattu in Tamil Nadu, the junction connecting Chittoor-Puttur road, just a few metres from the Chittoor border. The tragedy evoked a furore in police circles of Tamil Nadu when a majority of the victims had turned into lumps of flesh and heaps of ash. With the mounting of police vigil in this Tamil Nadu town, crackers made locally started ruling the roost during processions and funerals and temple jataras from G.D. Nellore to Satyavedu in the district.
Now and then, the incidents of crude bombs exploding in the fields of western mandals, killing pet animals and small game occur much to the concern of forest officials.
Illegal stocks
Apart from this, the menace of illegal stocks of branded crackers beyond permissible levels is reported from certain pockets. In 2016 and 2017, the Chittoor taluk police seized such stocks elsewhere in the circle.
District Fire Officer Chowdepalle Peddireddi told The Hindu that country-made crackers are used in funeral processions and village festivals. “But, we are ever ready to act on the menace if the public approach us. It is also very difficult to detect such manufacturing units unless the public co-operate with us,” he added.
He observed that as getting permission for huge stocks like five tonnes of crackers, one should get permission from the central department of explosives at Vishakhapatnam. This difficult task might be a reason for traders preferring illegal stocks, he said.
Further, gelatin sticks and ammonium nitrate that were on their way to granite quarries have been seized on many occasions in the district.
District Fire Officer of Anantapur K. Satyanarayana said that in recent years not a single case pertaining to presence of illegal fireworks was booked. However, he admitted the usage of unbranded crackers during local festivals and funerals.
